International Environmental Governance - Coursework Example

Environmental Governance Introduction Governance of the environment is the most participatory realms of global governance to both the state and non-state actors. Compared to other domains of global governance environmental governance has been responsive to justice and equity issues more so matters of legitimacy. Where activities are concerned this organizations always tries to combine local decision-making and global concerns. People have been worries that political configuration may not adapt appropriately or keep pace with the pressure of globalization. Many think that global environment has remained weak it is not able to make progress because it lacks authority. Legitimacy is a key for this to happen because it can establish more effective and extensive environmental action in the global arena. Many non-environmental institutions have taken advantage and decided to subordinate the m to make goals of open market, efficiency and economic growth (Sanoh et al. 2014). Environmental Governance - Markets Production, processing and other business activities around the globe large affect the environment through green house gasses emission. These emissions include dangerous gasses like carbon dioxide, which is largely known for its wide environmental pollution. Based on this governments and other environment al sensitive bodies are finding it necessary to establish policies geared towards managing the effects of these emission into environment. According these bodies and other concerned authorities the same businesses or organizations responsible for these emissions are better placed in helping manage the situation. These authorities and concerned governments feel that the management or reduction of green house emissions can be done in three important ways as follows; mandating various businesses and individuals to change their actions towards technology choices and application, subsidizing business and individuals to allow them invest in lower emitting goods and services and pricing external green house gas emission. These decision or strategies are meant businesses and individuals engage in environmental friendly business operations or activities. They are also meant to ensure businesses take responsibility of various actions (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). Environmental governance has proven to be a major challenge to most government agencies. Based on this, government feel privatization of environmental governance would go extra steps to bring the much-needed sanity. This privatization process involves giving nongovernmental bodies authority or go ahead to develop and implement various strategies meant to steer environmental safety (Sanoh et al. 2014). NSMD have changed a number of activities with the market of operation with aim of steering market safety. The systems and the supporters are turning the markets supply chain towards the creation of incentives and forcing companies within the market comply. The creation of incentives and forcing most the production and processing to comply has been a major challenge to the government hence the introduction of privatization. Emission of carbon dioxide into the environment is a widely discussed topic. Although many have ignored information on the emissions as provided by scientist, it is time that people within the society take action to mange control these emissions. However, it is necessary to note that the management or control of these emissions requires the involvement of everyone within the society (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). This implies that organizations must take responsibility of the actions or any consequences of their activities. Taking initiatives like imposing tax cuts is one of the main strategies of making production and processing forms accountable. Since huge income earnings motivate these firms, imposing carbon tax will force them to reduce the rate of emission to avoid such taxes. Carbon tax is the tax levied on fuels because of their carbon content. Carbon is normally present in every hydrocarbon fuel including natural gas, petroleum, and coal. Carbon is usually released into the atmosphere i n the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) whenever burnt. This is unlike other sources of energy such as nuclear, hydropower, sunlight, and wind, which do not transform hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide. In this case, different governments to reduce greenhouse gas secretions use carbon taxes. From an economic point of view, carbon taxes are used to ensure greenhouse emitters do not go unpunished for their activities. Many countries have employed this strategy with an aim of reducing environmental pollution (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). Population growth automatically means that there will be a sharply increased need for cultivation land to feed the additional masses. Aside from that, the extra number of people on earth will require land and material to build settlement. Thus, more land that is currently used for natural and artificial forestation will have to be cleared to meet the above needs. By clearing already existing vegetation, it will be hard to talk about environmental sustainability since the trees themselves serve to keep the ecosystem balanced. Forest do not only act as hinterlands from which water resources exist but they also organize those water resources to flow in such a way that they are useful to the people who live downstream. In other words, if environment is considered as a whole, forest come in handy by allowing for the formation of tributaries, early on, which join into a big river as the water mass enlarges. The topography of the land flattens as the water mass increases thereby reducing the speed of the water. Overall, the steep highlands where forests exist need little irrigation as opposed to the lowlands. In effect therefore, deforestation will re-arrange the whole equation to catastrophic conclusions (Biermann & Bauer, 2005). Additional numbers of people will mean increased human activity on earth. If focus is narrowed down to the kind of human activity that required fossil fuels, the picture is horrifying indeed. If a country like India is taken as an example, the population rise there has translated into skyrocketing of demand for cheap consumer goods. Those goods, in turn are sourced from neighboring china. It has been said repeatedly that the Chinese factories are the world’s leading contributor of greenhouse gases. Thus, if population increase is seen in its universal dimensions, global warming can be described as the direct effect without much space for contradiction (Sanoh et al. 2014). The issue of pollution caused by the constant manufacturing of industrial goods plays into the whole issue of climate change through the increased travel that it requires fro the top tier of the economic ladder. In essence, the globalization of the world economy, which has itself been spurred by increased population, has, in effect, created super-rich global elite. From journalists, to international corporation representatives to tourists, the modern world has experienced a surge for air that takes place every day. The more demand there is for Chinese goods, for instance, the more trade there will be globally. All other sectors, which use global fuels, will experience increased daily activity thereby raising the level of carbon emissions to such a high level than was experienced before (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). An increase in population will, create a citizenship that is inadequately educated. With such a policy, it will be hard to argue the case for environmental sustainability given the tendency of uneducated people to drift towards superstition rather than fact. It has been well documented that the vast majority of Americans believe that global warming is a liberal hoax. That majority happens to be under the impression that a supernatural power created this planet and thenceforth manipulates the weather patterns experience herein. This belief is nourished by fundamentalist Christian efforts to block the teaching of firmly established scientific data in schools around the country. Although the courts have weighed heavily against the fundamentalists, a sharp growth in global population doest bode well with science since it is happening in the Third World. The Indian example suffices in this respect. Given the current state of poverty, increments in population will only spell doom for the manner in which scientific consensus plays into politics. Poor people everywhere tend to be attracted to populist ideologies of the traditionalist variety. In other words, in desperate times, people coalesce around ideas, which symbolize oneness either in worship or in kinship. In such circumstances, herd thinking overwhelms any attempt at sensible discourse. For instance, a mob of Indian peasants in a Calcutta ghetto will more likely listen to the consoling speeches of Hindu and Sikh fundamentalists calling for more forest to be cleared for settlement than channel their attention to an Oxford educated environmentalist urging them to support a policy meant to curb carbon emissions (Sanoh et al. 2014). Although most business activities resulting to these emissions are directed towards economic growth, it is essential to note that these activities are also major contributors towards natural resource depletion thus exposing most economies to future economic growth decline. From this analysis it is clear that the same activities which build economy if some countries destroy or derail economic growth in some countries (Sanoh et al. 2014). The Purpose of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design The concept of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a new one. The concept of CPTED is based on the idea that crime can be directly connected to the design of the physical environment. The aim of CPTED is to lower the opportunities for committing crime. This is achieved by coming up with physical design features that deter crime, while at the same time encouraging the legitimate use of the environment (Crowe, 2000). CPTED provides protection without using prison like approach to security such constructing fortress like structures (Crowe, 2000). When fortress-like buildings are used, they are incorporated into the overall design, which reduce impaired visibility. CPTED as an approach to security is cost-effective because the hardware components are normally included in the buildings during construction (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). The purpose of CPTED is to adopt a multi-disciplinary, multi-layered approach in preventing criminal behavior. CPTED utilizes the concepts of architecture, landscaping, planning, and law in reducing crime, opportunities for committing crime and the fear of crime (Sanoh et al. 2014). This makes the main aim of CPTED to be deterring criminal behavior. In order to understand how CPTED is used in deterring crimes in public and private places, it is important to look into some of its components and the idea behind them (Sanoh et al. 2014). One CPTED concepts is defensible space whereby an environment is divided into smaller, clearly defined zones or areas that will enable maximum control. These zones then become the centers where various components of CPTED are applied. Under the guidelines of defensible space, all areas are marked as private, semi-private, or public (Wenzel, 2007). This marking is what determines how each zone is going to be used, and who has the right of being within each zone. Public zones refer to regions open to everyone, and they are the least secure of all the zones. Semi-private zones refer to areas that demarcate public from private zones, and act as common use spaces; for example, interior courtyards (Sanoh et al. 2014). Private zones are areas with restricted entry, and only specific individuals and groups can be admitted in these areas. A second component of CPTED is territoriality, which refers to how an individual perceives and relates with the environment (Crowe, 2000). If an individual strongly identify with the environment he/she will have the courage to defend it. A sense of territoriality is inculcated through architecture that enables easy designation of certain areas as belonging to certain groups or individuals. The feeling of belonging is heightened when an individual can relate with the concerned area with a sense of ownership and pride. The third component of crime prevention through environmental design is surveillance, which is a key component of protecting defensible space. The chances of people engaging in criminal activities are low if they know that their actions are being witnessed.There are different types of surveillance incorporated into the CPTED system. One of them is informal surveillance, which is enabled by the architectural design that eliminates visual obstacles. The second type of surveillance is formal surveillance that is achieved through modern surveillance methods such as closed circuit television (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). The fourth component of CPTED is lighting, and good lighting has been hailed as one of the most effective methods of crime deterrent. Proper use of light is known to deter criminal activity, make natural surveillance better, and lower fear. CPTED require the maintenance of light that enable reasonable visibility throughout the night (Sanoh et al. 2014). The fifth component of CPTED is landscaping. Just like architectural design, landscaping plays a crucial role and it can be utilized in performing different design functions. Landscaping can be used to demarcate different zones using features like flower beds, decorative fencing, and different patterns on buildings. Landscaping can also assist in maintaining visibility, and serve an aesthetic function that will give residents a sense of ownership and pride. The last component of CPTED is physical security. Most buildings do not have elements that ensure physical security because building designers do not criminals and how they operate (Crowe, 2000). Failure to incorporate security in the design of a building is evident in the high incidents of burglary rate in both commercial and residential buildings. The aim of physical security under CPTED is to make penetrating buildings difficult and time consuming. Use of CPTED in Public and Private Security CPTED has been considered the most effect method that can be employed by public entities like local councils to enhance security and improve the quality of public places. The first step in using CPTED to ensure security in public places is identifying potential crime hot spots. This can be done by involving the community; examining crime statistics; management and safety audits; and assessing different sites. Crime hot spots are public places with high incidents of criminal activity, anti-social behavior and fear of crime. Some public places that may have high incidents of crime include bus stops, community car parks, public toilets, street malls, and public recreation areas among others (Sanoh et al. 2014). Using CPTED to ensure security entails applying the components of CPTED discussed above to crime hot sports areas. This will require forming partnerships with communities and involving them alongside different stakeholders. Authorities ensures that CPTED is used in securing public places by creating a CPTED local design that will help all the party involved in constructing an environment that deter crime (Sanoh et al. 2014). Using CPTED to improve security in public spaces will also require an improvement of public facilities in order to integrate CPTED components. All new public projects will also have to incorporate components of CPTED such as defensible space, territoriality, surveillance, lighting, landscaping, and physical security (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). Using CPTED to ensure security in public places will also require voluntary cooperation from private entities nearby as this will enhance safety and quality of public spaces. Public spaces are normally under the jurisdiction of local council, and implementing CPTED will require training of council staff on how to prevent crime using CPTED (The State of Queensland , 2007). Owners and people utilizing crime hot spots should also be made aware of the crime problems and how implementing CPTED is going to assist them. CPTED can also be used in ensuring private security. However, one of the challenges is that sometimes privately owned land can be developed without acquiring development application. This makes most private developers not to include components of CPTED in their property. Voluntary initiative is one of the methods that can be used to convince individuals to incorporate CPTED in their private spaces. This can be achieved through creating awareness on the importance of CPTED and training people. Authorities can anticipate where considerable private development is likely to occur and educate the owners on the importance of CPTED (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). Using CPTED to ensure security in public and private places require safety audits to be conducted regularly. Safety audits are initiatives meant to prevent crime by reducing opportunities for crime especially violent crimes in both public and private places. A safety audit is an exercise that gives local people a chance to avail accurate and important information to designers, service providers, and planners. Safety audits also gives opportunity to local communities to stipulate the kind of things that give them a feeling of safety and this will enable a better use of public places. The major stakeholders that should take part in safety audits include local authorities, the local community, the police, and members of the local agencies (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). The main goals of safety audits are: to pin point possible crime hot spots in both public and private paces, and address the issue by making recommendation to relevant agencies. Safety audit also aims at identifying the appropriate CPTED components that can best remove or lower incidents of crime in certain places. Safety audit also give the community the power to monitor how the recommendation made are implemented. Safety audit is an important activity to conduct before and after CPTED measures have been implemented because it enables the improvement of the process (Aldy & Stavins, 2012). Lack of International environmental governance to be effective There are so many unmet goals in terms of environmental protection this provides a challenge for the governance institutions and international liberalism made to promote and maintain it. Legitimacy must apply to environmental governance because if affects both the states actors and those not acting for example decision of international financial institutions affecting local communities. There are many factors, which limits the environmental protection. The first one is economic growth caused by development of increasingly advanced technology, which causes scaled economies to protect the harm caused, by the very development, which is encouraged. There has been growth of consumption, which encourages development of irresponsible lifestyle because of increase in cars per person and number of homes. Loss of any species has many consequences due to chain reaction from negative consequences. Population increase is another challenge to this development more so in developing countries. Demographic growth needs to be countered by developing education and family planning programs and generally improving women’s status (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). There is a lot of paradox in the politics of the environment. There are a little solution to the rise of resources globally and damages caused by political emissions. The environmental governance systems are not strong and serious, as the need requires. The government has tried to promote to promote sustainable practices but all this have failed due to lack of practice. Economies are not sustainable because of overexploitation of resources from the sea and forest alike. The governments have benefited from the destructive status quo through placing the interest of few above the on interest of many. The Asia pulp has done undermining the forest protection in Indonesia with Volkswagen fighting against the climatic protection. The environment continues to be exploited and the people cannot prosper because there are no regulations in place to secure the good of the public (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). Environmental and sustainable governance is not effective though there are many institutions dealing with social agenda or the environment. This institutions re not coordinated, lacks adequate power and are much weaker trade and economic bodies. The only thing UN Environment Programme can do is to capacity build, coach and plead where necessary.most times the world trade organisation has tried to impose measures which are punitive ion those breaking the rules but this has bore little results. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) are just being heard with little and very few offices around the world.other organisations have done very little though they were formed to monitorb the environment.they have failed to deliver sustainable development rather they have turned to talking shopps.the best they have done is to share ideas without any implementation whatsoever. The world therefore still lacks a global authority on the environment, especially one that has the power to monitor the implementation of global environmental agreements – and to sanction those failing to live up to their promises (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). As stated by Aldy and Stavins (2012), the UNEP at some points failed to raise money for environmental protection.environmental governance has fced many challenges due to inadequate continental and global agreements due to enresolved tension causing damage of links within economies. Environmental funding is not self-sustaining, diverting resources from problem-solving into funding battles. The priorities of these institutions have been ill defined with very unclear objectives. There has been lack of integration of sector policies and lack of sharing of visions. International imbalance between environmental governance and trade and finance programs which has caused limited credit for organization running environmental projects. There has been inability to influence public opinion due to lack of gender perspective in environmental governance (Sanoh et al. 2014).). This has been worsened by the fact that this field has many negotiators than implementers. They hop from one treaty to the next without a solution. There has been lack of incentive from international community for implementation. There are few effective disincentives for failure to implement. This challenge is particularly acute for developing countries where Precious few resources are siphoned off to servicing the appetites of international negotiation. Those who shape international governance are not represented for example local communities, business interest and civil society. The scale of ambition does not match the scale of the problem. There has been lack of implementation and lack of meeting the obligation has increased now than before (Biermann, Betsill, Gupta, Kanie, Lebel, Liverman & Zondervan, 2010). Effectiveness of International environmental governance International environmental governance has tried to be effective through allocation of funding to environmental priorities at both international and domestic level. It has tried to reduce ozone depletion substance and control of trade in hazardous substances. The UNEP has established groups to initiate the process by strengthening environmental governance at the global governance. Through this organization the culture of international accountability has evolved and global government has been aspired. They have encouraged countries to understand the gravity of the problem confronting the planet and to do the right thing for everybody who is concerned. Environmental negotiations have been improved through treaties and this are meant to improve the global environment metrics (Haug 2011). there has been increase in reporting mechanism to ensure that report performance indicators are collected. Global goals have been registered to ensure commitment and implementation by various countries. They have tried to ensure that there is compliance to the practices made. There have been many incentives in place for better behavior and performance. This has ensured accountability and transparency. They have Institutionalize a system of periodic global performance monitoring and reporting by making accountability a key function of signals from actors. Public participation has been encouraged through decision-making and access to justice in matters of environment. The united nations have brought together individuals the governments through dissemination of knowledge and sustainable development through networks in different countries. It has gone ahead to organize knowledge and sustainable development for policy makers and practitioners (Morris, Nivola & Schultze 2012). Summary For sustainability to be attained there is need for strengthening and upgrading of exixting institution such as UNEP.the rules in place must be ready to change powerr dynamics and investments incentives.much stronger sanction mechanism is required for environmental mechanisms.the countries which ignores the commitments they made to commisions should be given harsh penaltyies.global accountability should be placed by each state tio ensure that that damages caused to the environmernt are cosrtly and no longer free as before.the government should weigh the responsiblility to free markert focussed on short term gains or set rules to make the planet a secure place to be.there should be strong control in the financial markerts as an intergral part of the global governance.fiscal instruments should be adopted to slow down harmful; speculation and deliver funds for development and protection of the environment. A complete social and environmental review of the global trade system is also long overdue. Bibliography Agüera Cabo, M. (2011). Environmental governance from a gender perspective. Theoretical reflections and case studies.Haug, M 2011, Clean energy and international oil, Oxford Review Of Economic Policy, 27, 1, pp. 92-116, Business Source Complete. Aldy, J. E & Stavins, R . N. (2012). The Promise and Problems of Pricing Carbon: Theory and Experience The Journal of Environment Development 2012 21: 152 originally published online 18 April 2012 DOI: 10.1177/1070496512442508 Biermann, F, & Bauer, S. (2005). A World Environment Organization: Solution or threat for effective international environmental governance? Burlington, Vt: Ashgate. Biermann, F, Betsill, M, Gupta, J, Kanie, N, Lebel, L, Liverman, D, & Zondervan, R. (2010). Earth system governance: a research framework. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law & Economics, 10(4), 277-298. doi:10.1007/s10784-010-9137- 3 Chambers, W, & Green, J. F. (2005).Reforming International Environmental Governance : From Institutional Limits to Innovative Solutions. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Martinez, S. (2007). Reforming International Environmental Governance: From Institutional Limits to Innovative Reforms. Stanford Journal of International Law, 43203. Morris, A, Nivola, P, & Schultze, C 2012, Clean energy: Revisiting the challenges of industrial policy, Energy Economics, 34, pp. 34-42, Business Source Complete Sanoh, A, et al, 2014, The economics of clean energy resource development and grid interconnection in Africa, Renewable Energy: An International Journal, 62, pp. 598-609. Tobin, M, & Boyadjis, G 2010, ‘Preparing For A Clean-Energy Future’, Financial Executive, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 47-51. Read More